“Make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15)
Frank Turek is a dynamic speaker and award-winning author or coauthor of four books including: Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to make their Case and I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. As the President of CrossExamined.org, Frank presents powerful and entertaining evidence for Christianity at churches, high schools, and at secular college campuses that often begin hostile to his message. A former aviator in the US Navy, Frank has a master's degree from George Washington University and a doctorate from Southern Evangelical Seminary.
Sam Allberry speaks around the world as a pastor, preacher and apologist. He is the author of Seven Myths About Singleness, Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With? and What God Has To Say About Our Bodies. His writing can also be found at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, and samallberry.com.
Liberty University
Liberty University
Gary Habermas (PhD, Michigan State University) has authored, co-authored, or edited some 43 books, half of which center on various aspects of Jesus' resurrection, including Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? and The Risen Jesus and Future Hope. He has also contributed more than 70 chapters and essays to additional books and close to 200 articles and reviews in journals and other publications, including publishers like Oxford, Cambridge, Blackwell, Harper, Harcourt-Brace, Dell, Fortress, Baker, InterVarsity, and Zondervan. He has been a visiting or adjunct professor at more than 15 different graduate schools and seminaries in the United States and other countries. He is currently distinguished research professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy at Liberty University, teaching full-time in the PhD program at Liberty's Rawlings School of Divinity, and is visiting professor of apologetics at NOBTS.
Douglas R. Groothuis is Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary. Groothuis was a campus pastor for twelve years prior to obtaining a position as an associate professor of philosophy of religion and ethics at Denver Seminary in 1993. He was educated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Oregon. Among his many books are Walking through Twilight: A Wife's Illness—A Philosopher's Lament; Philosophy in Seven Sentences: A Short Introduction to a Vast Topic; and the bestselling Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith.
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Timothy McGrew is professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western Michigan University. A specialist in theory of knowledge, logic, probability theory, and the history and philosophy of science, Dr. McGrew has spoken at Oxford, MIT, and other universities as well as at many churches and seminaries across the United States and overseas. He has also engaged in public debates on the meaning of faith, the rationality of belief in miracles, and the historical reliability of the Gospels. He holds the title of National Master from the United States Chess Federation and won the Michigan Championship in 2006. He and his wife, Lydia, have been married for over 30 years, and they have three chess-playing daughters.
Biola Univeristy
Biola Univeristy
Craig J. Hazen is professor of comparative religion and Christian apologetics at Biola University and founder and director of the Christian apologetics program. For nearly twenty years he was the editor of Philosophia Christi, one of the top philosophy of religion journals in the world. He has authored or contributed to a range of scholarly works including To Everyone an Answer, Apologetics Study Bible, his breakout novel Five Sacred Crossings, and Fearless Prayer. Hazen holds a PhD in religious studies and a degree in biological sciences, and has studied international law and human rights in Strasbourg, France.
Jude 3 Project
Jude 3 Project
Lisa Victoria Fields is the founder and president of the Jude 3 Project. She is a graduate of the University of North Florida with a BS in communications and religious studies, and Liberty University with an MDiv with a focus in theology. She has spoken at evangelism, apologetics and biblical literacy events at various universities and churches. She has a passion for teaching the Word of God. In addition to her work in ministry, Lisa hosts a secular podcast for young professionals called Brunch Culture. She believes it's important for Christians to engage the culture and represent a biblical worldview. Above all, Lisa hopes to be marked by her love for God and people, because in her mind that is the only thing that really matters.
Watchman Fellowship
Watchman Fellowship
James Walker, president of Watchman Fellowship, is a former fourth-generation Mormon with over 25 years of ministry experience in the field of Christian evangelism, apologetics, interfaith evangelism, and discernment. He has been interviewed as an expert on new religious movements and cults on a variety of network television programs including Nightline, ABC World News Tonight, and PBS NewsHour. He has spoken at hundreds of churches, colleges, universities, and seminaries throughout the United States and internationally. He is author of the book The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality and forthcoming book What the Qur'an Really Teaches about Jesus (Harvest House, 2018).
Donald T. Williams, PhD, is professor emeritus of English at Toccoa Falls College. A border dweller, he stays permanently camped out on the borders between theology and literature, serious scholarship and pastoral ministry, Narnia and Middle Earth. He is the author of thirteen books, most recently Deeper Magic: The Theology behind the Writings of C. S. Lewis (Square Halo Books, 2016), An Encouraging Thought: The Christian Worldview in the Writings of J. R. R. Tolkien (Christian Publishing House, 2018), The Young Christian's Survival Guide: Common Questions Young Christians are Asked about God, the Bible, and the Christian Faith Answered (Christian Publishing House, 2019), Stars through the Clouds: The Collected Poetry of Donald T. Williams (Lantern Hollow Press, 2020), and Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation: A Road Map for Post-Evangelical Christianity (Semper Reformanda Publications, 2021)
Travis Dickinson (PhD, University of Iowa) is professor of philosophy at Dallas Baptist University. He has taught courses in philosophy and Christian apologetics for over twenty years and has done apologetics and evangelism in more than thirty-five countries. He is the author of Wandering Toward God: Finding Faith amid Doubts and Big Questions, Logic and the Way of Jesus: Thinking Critically and Christianly and Everyday Apologetics, and the coauthor of Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel. He has written articles for Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition and The Christian Research Journal and gets the privilege to regularly speak at churches and conferences. He lives in Fort Worth, TX, with his wife Shari and their four children. You can find Travis online at www.travisdickinson.com.
Paul Copan (Ph.D., Philosophy, Marquette University) is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Florida. He has also helped establish the new M.A. in Philosophy of Religion at PBA (start-up August 2021). For six years, he served as president of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He is author or editor of over 40 books, including works such as The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion, A Little Book for New Philosophers, Is God a Moral Monster? and Is God a Vindictive Bully? He has also contributed essays to over 50 books, both scholarly and popular, and he has authored a number of articles in professional journals. In 2017, he was a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University. Paul and his wife, Jacqueline, have six children, and they reside in West Palm Beach, Florida. His website is www.paulcopan.com.
Dr. Michael G. Strauss (BS, Biola University, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles) is a David Ross Boyd Professor of Physics at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He conducts research in experimental particle physics at CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, where he studies the fundamental particles and forces in the universe. Dr. Strauss has spoken at universities, schools, and churches throughout the world about the intersection of science and Christianity. He is the author of the book The Creator Revealed: A Physicist Examines the Big Bang and the Bible, and one of the general editors of Zondervan's Dictionary of Christianity and Science.
Jamie Dew is the president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College. Previously, he was the vice president for undergraduate studies and distance learning at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds an MDiv and PhD in theological studies from SEBTS, as well as a PhD in philosophy of mind and philosophy of religion from the University of Birmingham (UK). He is married to Tara, and they have two sets of twins.
Damon Richardson has a passion for helping to equip ministers, church leaders and all believers biblically, theologically and apologetically. Damon currently preaches itinerantly and is the founder of UrbanLogia Ministries, an online theological and apologetics resource which specializes in the field of urban apologetics. Damon Richardson is an ordained Baptist minister who has served over the past 32 years in various ministry roles including senior pastor and teaching pastor. Locally, he's a member of Blueprint Church Stone Mountain in Georgia. He is married to Nadine and they have four children. Damon holds an M.A. in Religious Studies and is a PhD candidate at Beulah Heights University in Atlanta, GA.
Robert M. Bowman Jr. is the executive director of the Institute for Religious Research in Cedar Springs, Michigan. He holds the MA and PhD degrees in biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and South African Theological Seminary. Dr. Bowman is the author of over 60 articles and the author or co-author of over a dozen books on apologetics, Christology, and the religions of the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Latter-day Saints.
Richard G. Howe is a writer as well as a public speaker and debater in churches, conferences, and university campuses on issues concerning Christian apologetics and philosophy. He is Provost, Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics, and Norman L. Geisler Chair of Christian Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Howe is Past President of the International Society of Christian Apologetics. In their free time, Richard and his wife Rebekah enjoy international travel. Dr. Howe has a BA in Bible from Mississippi College, an MA in Philosophy from the University of Mississippi, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Arkansas. Both his master's thesis and doctoral dissertation focused on the issue of the existence of God.
David Calhoun is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he has been teaching since 1989. Calhoun has degrees from Louisiana State University (BA, Philosophy, 1981) and Northwestern University (MA, Philosophy, 1985, and PhD, Philosophy, 1989). He regularly teaches courses on ancient philosophy, philosophy of human nature, and existentialism. Over the past decade he has developed a course on Christianity and Science that explores the origins of western science in connection with Greek philosophy and Christian theology and culture and critically examines the popular view that science is at war with Christianity. He and his colleague Brian Clayton have been team-teaching philosophy of human nature in summers since 1994, and recently began offering a course on philosophy in film. Calhoun has published articles and book reviews on philosophical theology, ethics, and philosophy of education and spoken at conferences on topics such as human nature and philosophical anthropology, New Atheism, Christian themes in film and literature, and Christianity and science. Current projects include the philosophical underpinnings of human dignity, philosophical and theological themes in the films of Terrence Malick, and virtue and character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. Calhoun directs the Gonzaga Socratic Club, which promotes philosophical inquiry into the Christian worldview after the model of the Oxford Socratic Club, which was presided over by Christian scholar and apologist C. S. Lewis in the 1940s and 50s.
Bob Stewart serves as professor of Philosophy and Theology and Greer-Heard Chair of Faith and Culture at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has authored or edited numerous books and is the general editor of the Studies in Christian Apologetics monograph series from B&H Academic. He has also published articles in numerous books and journals. He also has spoken in university settings in North America and Europe. As head of the apologetics program at NOBTS, Dr. Stewart produces Defend the Faith and ran the Greer-Heard Point Counterpoint Forum for 14 years
Experience five full days of teaching from world renowned apologists.
Receive access to all breakout session audio recordings.
Enjoy "Coffee & Conversations" with guest speakers everyday.
Preview the NOBTS campus & experience the culture of New Orleans.
General Public and NOBTS Grad $130
Undergraduate and High-School Students $30
If you are a student at NOBTS, you can take up to 9 hours of core course credit through special event courses.
We bring the World's top defenders of the faith together to equip Christians to share the Gospel to all peoples.
We mix deep teaching with engaging worship led by people who are passionate about glorifying the name of Jesus.
We want to prepare Christians for obsticles to faith both outside of and within the church.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
3939 Gentilly Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70126
(504) 816-4455 x8196
In order to receive credit for these courses, you must register for the conference through this website as well as for whichever courses you need through Student Portal.
For information on the requirements for each course, please review the syllabi provided below. If you have any questions about these special event courses, you can contact each professor directly or reach out to the conference coordinators at apologetics@nobts.edu.
Graduate Courses
We are currently accepting proposals for breakout sessions. If you would like to lead a session, please submit your proposal using this application.
Registration will open June 2022!